R432-12-16. Heat and Noise Reduction

(1) The licensee shall ensure rooms containing heat producing equipment including a furnace, heater, washer, or dryer, are insulated and ventilated to prevent floors of overhead occupied areas and adjacent walls from exceeding a temperature of 10 degrees Fahrenheit or 6 degrees Celsius above the ambient room temperature of such occupied areas. (2) For noise reduction precautions in a small health care facility, the licensee shall ensure: (a) recreation rooms, exercise rooms, and similar spaces where impact noises may be generated are not located directly over resident-bed areas unless special accommodations are made to minimize such noise; (b) sound transmission limitations confirm to Table 2; (c) there is consideration of sound transmission through ceilings and composite sound transmission class (STC) performance where partitions do not extend to the structure above; (d) service areas requiring sound transmission determinations include kitchens, elevators, elevator machine rooms, laundries, garages, maintenance rooms, boiler and mechanical equipment rooms, and similar spaces of high noise; and (e) mechanical equipment located on the same floor or above residents' rooms, offices, nurses' stations, and similarly occupied space is effectively isolated from the floor. TABLE 2 SOUND TRANSMISSION LIMITATIONS IN LONG-TERM CARE FACILITES AIRBORNE SOUND TRANSMISSIONS Class Sound Transmission Class (STC)(a) Partitions Floors Residents' room to residents' room 35 40 Public Space to residents' room(b) 40 40 Service areas to residents' room(c) 45 45 (3) Sound transmission class (STC) listed in Table 2 is determined by tests in accordance with methods set forth in American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) recommended standards in the plans review of Section R432-4-12.